Before cattle colonies became a national discourse, one has actually been in existence in a boundary between Lagos and Ogun states for about 30 years and is still flourishing. It is called Kara Market, where hundreds of cattle and men cohabit, enjoying the flow of River Ogun and the mixed smell of both fresh and dried cow dung (shit) which are splashed everywhere and usually welcome first-timers to the “colony”. Wednesday afternoon through evening, the waste from the cows spreads like a welcoming carpet, only that the carpet wasn’t red.
Kara Market is situated along Lagos/Ibadan express way. It is generally regarded as part of Lagos State, considering its proximity to the popular Berger bus-stop. But going by boundary demarcation, the cattle “colony” is actually sitting on Ogun State land.
However, Lagos State can also boast of its exclusive cow “colony at the Oko-Oba Agege Abattoir, though illegally sited, according to government officials. The cow convergence point in Lagos even predates Kara, having been in existence since the establishment of the abattoir by the administration of former Governor Lateef Jakande, according to the history given Saturday Tribune by the spokesperson of the state Ministry of Agriculture, Mr Tunbosun Ogunbanwo. Apart from the illegal attachment to the abattoir which is now home to more than 10,000 dwellers, there is also another cattle “colony” in a place called Rago Cattle Market, after Lagos State University, though not as popular as Kara and Oko-Oba.
A tale of two colonies
Kara and Oko-Oba present two sharply contrasting stories, though cattle business is central to the two settlements. In fact, the situation can be likened to a tale of two cities: while Kara is not only legal and the land purchased from the original owners by the first set of Fulani settlers, Oko-Oba has remained a subject of brutal confrontation between successive administrations in the state and the settlers. The crisis peaked last year when the settlers attacked and broke the head of the driver of the excavator sent by the state government to demolish the shanties built all over the place.
Speaking on how Kara land was procured, the Seriki of Hausa, Aworiland, Alhaji Basi, said Kara Market has been existing for the past 29 years, adding that, “Although I hailed from Kebbi, it has been about 50 years now I have been residing in Isheri-Olofin where the market is precisely located.”
The 70-year-old Seriki revealed that the land was bought from the families of Ajaguna and Ologere. He further revealed that he and a Yoruba man, named Chief Muritala Babalola, were the first to settle at Kara, adding that the market has Fulani, Hausa and Yoruba living freely without any form of rancour. The Seriki who spoke in passable Pidgin English, said the market is structured for the purpose of ensuring peaceful coexistence and tranquility. To achieve this, he said a strict leadership structure is in place, being religiously observed. The head of the entire market is Chief Babalola, who happens to be a traditional ruler in Ibadanland as the Onido of Iddo. The second-in-command is Alhaji Basi, who is the head of the Hausa/Fulani settlers. The General Secretary, simply introduced as Baba Laide, runs the secretariat.
Alhaji Basi further explained that the market has not experienced any serious challenges because everybody knows what to do, adding that the cattle rearers pay their taxes as when due, which is outside of their monthly contribution to the development of the market.
Oko-Oba isn’t also without a structured leadership but, unlike the Kara leadership, the leaders of the three dominant groups-Oko-Oba Cattle Dealers Association, United Butchers Association and the Myetti Allah Cow Dealers-are weaned in war and are always talking tough. In 2017, when the bulldozers rolled in to pull the illegal shanties down, backed by about 500 armed policemen, the cattle rearers rose up to the task force, stoning the officers, while shouting Allah Akbar.
The leaders claimed that “over the years, since we were relocated here, during [the General] Buba Marwa’s administration, the government has continued to promise us infrastructure. They promised to develop this market, but they didn’t. If the Lagos State government is tired of us, they should give us notice to relocate to our state or another state. No single cow will come into Lagos from the North if government does not compensate us.”
The spokesperson of the state Ministry of Agriculture, Ogunbanwo, however debunked the claims by the Oko-Oba colony leaders as he told Saturday Tribune on Thursday that “all the problems have been settled”.
Kara specials
At the entrance of Kara Market, the smell of cow dung is palpable as the whole place was filled with people who are predominantly Fulani, moving alongside their cattle, while others were stationed at different points awaiting patronage when Saturday Tribune visited. No one approached was ready to volunteer any information, including even those who understood English Language and could converse in it.
When Saturday Tribune asked about the leadership of the market, it was initially directed to a Yoruba man superintending some aspects of the market, who eventually described the location of the market’s ‘secretariat’. Everybody kept pointing in the direction of the ‘secretariat’ which is situated right under the overhead bridge that borders Lagos and Ogun states. The ground-floor of the ‘secretariat’ was covered with mats where leaders meet to discuss pressing issues regarding the state of the market. With the intense gaze of the cattle-rearers and sellers, taking photographs by the reporters, was a very risky venture.
The Fulani man present at the ‘secretariat’ said the General Chairman of the Market (Oba Babalola) does not reside in the market, but comes on Sundays only. He, however, added that important issues affecting the market development always make the chairman to be present in the market during the other days of the week. During the visit, the Kabiyesi, Seriki and the secretary were not available, but Saturday Tribune later got to speak with them on phone.
Moving round the market, it was noticed that there was nowhere without cattle dung. Most of the inhabitants are Muslims, having only one but big mosque, surrounded by traders who sell different kinds of candies and edible products.
An inhabitant of the market who joined her aunt only two months ago, Folake, disclosed that they all live in shanties within the environ and that the monthly rent was 1,500 naira, which is equivalent to N18,000 annually. She said that the inhabitants rely solely on the meruwas (northerners who sell water in kegs) for potable water to drink, cook and bath.
On entering the market, to the right, is a large space for ranches, while the left serves as the main market where the day-to-day activities are carried out. The Ogun River flows at the back, serving the community and the cattle. While cattle excreta goes into the river from the Kara end, it was learnt that the same river serves some communities around the Agiliti Area in Ikorodu.
Kara is a health disaster
Apart from the dung competing with human beings, one could hardly get to breathe decent air around the market, with stench oozing from everywhere. When Saturday Tribune thought the secretariat would provide some relief, it was discovered that the market wasn’t connected to the power grid, hence no electricity and no cooling breeze.
Cow sellers, cattle herders and meat sellers
Kara is a huge community of close-knit sellers of cows and meat with others whose work is purely to herd cattle across the large expanse of land spreading from Kara to Wawa and deep into Journalists Estate Phase II in Arepo.
“These herders also go as far as Magboro where they exploit the lack of structural tightness of the area to graze even at night. Seeing these people at night is what has given residents the fear that they could constitute real security threats,” a resident told Saturday Tribune.
However, there has been no major ugly incident in these areas in recent time.
Disorganised environ, organised leadership
Despite the disorganised environment of the market as shanties are seen scattered all over the place and cows moving up and down giving little space to pedestrians, the market surprisingly maintains the organised leadership structure earlier spoken about and an organised security system.
Folake, who works for a food vendor, pointed out the police post which doesn’t look anything like one because the security personnel were not in their uniform. While still moving round the market, Saturday Tribune stumbled on a particular place called “slaughter” which is located at the very end of the market, housing the only school in the vicinity with the name Mercy Nursery/Primary School. The classes range from Kindergarten to Primary 1. The school is a combination of rough planks, demarcated into two with 50 pupils and four teachers.
A proprietress story
“My name is Afolashade Adeyokun. I have been in this Kara environment for two years. Prior to now, an Arabic school was in existence, handled by one Hausa man who later went back to the North. And ever since, no one has been able to come up with the initiative within the environs. I was motivated by the poor salary at Nursery and Primary in Ojota, where I was paid 12, 000 naira monthly which was not commensurate with my capability. It was my flair for teaching that really worked out my placement here, but all glory is to God.
“I was invited to a birthday party in Kara here by a friend. Having attended the party, I discerned that most children in this area were not going to school and as a result, I jumped at the opportunity to create this platform. Another factor that worked for me was the distance and the risk involved in sending the children to schools around Isheri or Magodo, which their parents are not convinced about. I started gradually with seven children and now the school is made up of 50 pupils.
“Due to the observation that the parents cannot afford to pay the school fees per term, I decided to make it a daily payment for ease of stress. As a result, the children pay 100 naira daily, which is equivalent to 5,000 naira daily, 25,000 naira weekly, 100,000 naira monthly and 1, 200, 000 naira yearly. I have classes for Kindergarten 1 and 2, Nursery 1 and 2 and Primary 1 only. We are planning to secure a space to continue the primary education. I rented the two shops as classrooms for a monthly payment of 2,000 naira each, equivalent to 48,000 naira yearly.
“The pressing challenge is irregular attendance of the pupils. Also, the fact that we could not further our primary education poses a threat to the development of this initiative that tends to empower the children with knowledge. Our curriculum centres on alphabetical reading, two letter words, three letter words and an important aspect is moral. We teach them how to greet and how to socialise. Honestly, the pupils are really coping. There is none of the pupils that cannot recite all the alphabets.
“Like I had rightly said, I have been teaching for the past 13 years. So, transferring knowledge to pupils is what I was born to do.
“The school initially had four teachers, but left with three teachers, who joined in passing down knowledge with a difference, in terms of quality and excellence to the pupils. The assistant teacher is paid 1,000 naira daily, which is equivalent to 5,000 naira weekly, 20,000 naira monthly and 240,000 naira yearly”, she said and appealed to the government to empower and enhance her capability by erecting a school under her control and management. She also assured that there will be no cause for alarm in discharging her responsibilities as the proprietress of the school.
White pap from black pot?
Without doubt, the school is a shanty on its own, but what Saturday Tribune experimented showed that the pupils are as good, if not better than, some of their counterparts in other places where beter structures and other facilities are in place. Aishat Muhammed, a four-year-old pupil in Nursery 2, her classmate and others up to Primary 1, could recite their alphabets and numerals fluently and this goes for about 80 per cent of all the pupils who are predominantly of the Hausas/Fulani ethnic stock. Since it was an impromptu visit, the pupils couldn’t have been coached to perform as excellent as they did, answering questions from the visiting Saturday Tribune reporter.
The other side
While crime cannot be ruled out in Kara community, it doesn’t appear a way of life as it was at Oko-Oba Cattle Colony, before the demolition last year. Despite the demolition, the area is still not completely cleansed. When Saturday Tribune visited the area in the evening after the demolition, coming in through the railway line at Fagba, scrap dealers were at work dislodging their scraps on heaps, despite the darkness. Moving further, batches of young boys with their empty carts were seen exchanging pleasantries, some lying on their carts, showing no signs of going anywhere to sleep. Ahead were men in batches, smoking hemp under semi-erected sheds, while the mai’shai sold local tea from their locally-made kettles. Women were seen selling masa, bean cake, and other Hausa delicacies.
By 8:30pm, some children were observed going into the abattoir with plastic plates which probably indicated they were almajiris coming back from their daily activity of seeking alms.
Alhaji Saidu Yusuf, the manager of Oko Oba Abattoir, had explained to Saturday Tribune that there were lots of saboteurs within and outside the abattoir. He said the genuine workers were known, while the majority of those living there had no right to be there because they had nothing doing at the abattoir.
According to Yusuf, “Some have two to three wives without having any work they do. They are the ones erecting shanties around. I am Hausa, but I’ll not hide from the truth. The government needs to do something about these people.”
Speaking on the bad roads and the gridlock, he explained that Tuesdays are often the days cows are brought into the abattoir from several states across the country which usually caused traffic. He said that the state government had started building truck parks within the abattoir where cows could be brought in and discharged in a clean environment. Saturday Tribune can confirm the functionality of the parks.
However, the place is far from being sane. The settlers are still alleged to always carry themselves as if above the law, with the area being controlled by three serikis; the only people the dwellers reportedly listen to. Policemen are said to be avoiding going in there to settle issues, while government officials must negotiate with the serikis to prevent the dwellers from going on rampage.
The demolished shanties are gradually making a comeback, putting the environment under threat again. As observed by Saturday Tribune during the night visit, child sex can also be said to be thriving there as young girls were seen milling around with protruding bellies. However, the government spokesman is very optimistic in the midst of all these threats and social vices.
Apart from the threat by the state Ministry of Agriculture to seize straying cattle, Ogunbambo said, on Thursday, that “the need to introduce forceful intervention to bring about healthy change in abattoir operations was what informed the setting up of the Monitoring, Enforcement and Compliance Unit. Since the unit started its enforcement activities, many butchers and cattle marketers have been arrested for offences bordering on illegal operations, while illegal abattoirs and slaughter slabs have been dislodged.”
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